Every spring I get excited about fresh peas and beans and then I remember how much work it is to shell them.  Can you name these beans?I had never seen fresh garbanzos before last week. All my life, I’ve only eaten the canned variety.  These were a beautiful green color, with shells similar to edamame.  They only need to be steamed for 2 minutes. Of course I was tempted into this purchase at Whole Foods, and later got some cooking guidance from the store on Twitter.I’m sure I gave fava beans a whirl last year, but amazingly, I forgot they are double the work!  First there’s the outer pod and then another layer you quickly steam to loosen around the bean.
We had our garbanzos and fava beans on fresh pasta tossed with pesto and it was the taste of springtime, but way too much work to be repeated anytime soon!